Changing Tortillas for Bread

Wheat consumption is growing in Mexico, with thousands of bakeries offering artisan bread

Changing Tortillas for Bread

By AL DIA News

March 21, 2017

Mexico is the empire of corn: tortillas, tostadas, tacos... everything is made of corn. But in the last years, the country, especially the capital, Mexico city, has seen a rise in bakery chains where they sell artisanal wheat bread, European style.

After tripping last year over a tax on processed food, including industrial baked goods, consumption of wheat products has been rising to a record 116 million tons, according to the industry group Canainpa, as reported in El País.

The fastest-growing segment, at 3%, is artisan bread. Nearly 37,000 small bakeries have opened up in the country in recent years.

“These businesses tend to be concentrated in higher-income areas. In the popular neighborhoods, people still eat mostly corn, but this new eating habit is also making inroads, based on slower-fermentation breads that use natural yeast and have a hard crust, following European tastes,” explains Canainpa president Carlos Otegui.